.01

Competition Name

The competition shall be called the LASCO Chess League (LCL).

.02

Organization

The Tournament Committee of the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF) shall organize the event.

Unless otherwise specified hereunder, the competition will be held according to the ByeLaws of the JCF and the FIDE Laws of Chess.

The Tournament Committee will appoint a Chief Arbiter to handle matters pertaining to pairings and the actual games played in the tournament.

The Chairman of the Tournament Committee will handle all other matters.

.03

Eligibility to Play and Team Composition

The tournament will be open. All team players and team captains must be fully paid-up members of the JCF for the entire duration of the event. Results of non-members will count as losses.

Teams may have four regular players and at most two optional reserves (each team shall be comprised of at least four (4) players).

No player can be registered to two teams at once, and no player may transfer from one team to another during the tournament.

No electronic device will be eligible for registration as a team member.

Each team shall register its players for particular boards and nominate the team captain at the same time. No team shall register more than two titled players. For the purpose of this rule a “titled player” is either a National master (NM), Woman national master (WNM), FIDE master (FM), International master (IM) or Grandmaster (GM). Untitled players who achieve a title during the course of the tournament may continue playing.

Team ratings shall be the mean average of the registered players, as listed in the stipulated JCF rating list. The team’s average rating cannot exceed the stipulated rating bar.

The top four players named at registration must play in any match (in the originally named board order), UNLESS the TEAM CAPTAIN advises the Chief Arbiter of the competition IN WRITING of any reserves playing.

The board order at registration cannot be changed during the event.

No player shall play on a board lower than that for which he or she has been registered but he/she may play on a higher board.

.04

Registration

Each team shall pay to the Treasurer of the JCF the stipulated registration fee, caution fee and any outstanding JCF membership.

Teams should submit their name and their logo, if any at the time of registration, in order that each member of the team can receive an ID badge.

.05

Tournament Schedule

The venue, tournament schedule and the time controls shall be decided by the Tournament Committee once the number of entries is known

The tournament director shall distribute (or post in a conspicuous place at the playing venue) all the information for the competition at least ten (10) days before the start of the competition. The information will also be placed on the JCF web site.

No rescheduling of matches will be permitted.

.06

Tournament Format

If the number of entries be 16 teams or less, the tournament will follow a Round Robin format standard BERGER pairing tables will be used. A draw will be held prior to the tournament to determine pairing numbers.

If the number of teams is more than 16, the tournament will be played as a 15 round Swiss based on team ratings Scores used for pairings being the “Game Points” obtained by the whole team (the total score of all four team members).

Individual games will be scored 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw, and 0  for a loss

The competition shall be played as matches between teams over four boards.

Colours played will be determined by the pairing system used.

.07

Prizes

Prizes will be given to the best three teams, as well as to the Best U-2000 team, Best U-1800 team, Best School team and Best Business Team. There will also be board prizes for all six boards.

.08

Sanctions

The Tournament Committee will decide what sanctions should be applied against teams or players who default games for no good reason or otherwise infringe the JCF standards as laid down in the ByeLaws (for example where it is clear games have been pre-arranged penalties may be imposed).

At least three (3) persons from each team, including the team captain, must attend the opening and closing ceremonies failing which the team might be subject to such further penalties as the JCF deems fit.

.09

Team Captains

The role of a team captain is basically administrative. He/she may be one of the players or any of the reserves.

Team captains have the right of access to the area reserved for the players, however they must refrain from interfering in any way during the games. They are, however, entitled to advise their players to make or accept an offer of a draw, or to resign a game.

They may not comment on the actual position on the chessboard and should not give any information to a player concerning the position on the chessboard, nor consult any other person as to the state of the game. They must confine themselves to giving brief information which can in no way be construed as an opinion on the progress of the game, based solely on the circumstances pertaining to the match. For example, they may say to a player, “offer a draw”, “accept the draw”, or “resign the game”. If asked by a player whether he should accept a draw offer, a team captain should answer “yes”, “no”, or delegate the decision to the player.

The player must have the final say over the conduct of his game. Although the advice of the captain should weigh heavily with the player, the player is not absolutely compelled to accept that advice. Likewise, the captain cannot act on behalf of a player and his game without the knowledge and consent of the player.

All discussions shall take place in sight of the arbiter and he shall be entitled to insist on hearing the conversation.

The captains are responsible for:

(a)    Notifying the Chief Arbiter, IN WRITING, of any changes to the team such as reserves being brought in to play.

(b)    Reporting the results to the arbiters, making sure that players keep score, and that all such scoresheets are legibly written.

(c)    Handling any appeals that may be necessary and generally acting as the contact person for communication with the arbiters and organizers of the competition.

(d)    Influencing their teams to always follow the spirit of the FIDE Laws of Chess concerning the conduct of the players and to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship at all times.

.10

Appeals

Appeals against decisions of the arbiters during play must be submitted in writing to the Chief Arbiter, clearly setting out the circumstances of the incident and the grounds on which the appeal is being made. The appeal must be submitted by the team captain immediately following the session during which the incident occurred, and must be accompanied by the stipulated fee, which will be returned if the appeal is successful. All appeals will be heard immediately after the session (and, in the event the event is a Swiss, before pairings are completed for the next round).

Entry Fees

The registration fee will be Three Thousand Jamaican Dollars (J$ 3,000.00) per team. There will be no caution fees. All fees must be received by the JCF Treasurer no later than Saturday March 4, 2006 at 4.00 p.m.

Schedule

The venue, tournament schedule and the time controls shall be announced by Saturday March 11, 2006 at the latest.

The Opening Ceremony will be at 11.00 a.m. on Sunday March 26, 2006 at the Holy Childhood High School Auditorium and the first round will follow starting at 1.00 p.m. Subsequent playing days will be on Saturdays and Sundays, to be announced, with sessions running from 1.00 to 6.00 p.m.

The Closing Ceremony will be at 6.00 p.m. on Sunday June 18, 2006 at the Holy Childhood High School Auditorium.

Team Ratings

The stipulated rating list to be used is the JCF January 31, 2006 list.

Rating Bar

The mean average rating of the six team members including reserves cannot exceed 2150. The mean average rating of the four team members playing in any match cannot exceed 2150.

Time Control

The time control will be G/120 (two hours for each player). Since there may well be a shortage of clocks teams are encouraged to bring their own.

Chief Arbiter

The Chief Arbiter for the 2006 competition is NM Robert Wheeler, who will appoint assistants as necessary.

Pairings

Pairings will be based on the international “Berger” tables.

Appeals Committee

The Appeals Committee for 2006 will comprise the Chief Arbiter NM Robert Wheeler together with  NM Shane Matthews, JCF Vice President Peter Myers, NM Jomo Pitterson, NM John Powell, and JCF President Ian Wilkinson.

Appeals Fee

The stipulated fee of J$ 500 will be applicable per appeal.

Team Changes

The team captains must notify the Chief Arbiter of any team changes NO LATER THAN 9.00 A.M. ON THE DAY OF THE MATCH. This can be done either on the prescribed form or by email. Contact details will be provided in a later bulletin.

Prizes

Guaranteed prizes will include 1^st J$ 60,000, 2^nd J$ 30,000 and 3^rd J$ 12,000. minimums. The complete prize list and regulations will be announced by Thursday March 16, 2006 at the latest.